Dulles Airport Travelers Possibly Exposed To Measles

LEESBURG, Va. (WUSA9) -- Loudoun County Health Department wants you to know that if you were at Dulles International Airport on Friday, June 7 from 6 to 9 p.m. in Concourse A or B in the International Arrivals Building or in the Baggage Claim level of the Main Terminal you may have been exposed to a person with measles.

People who were on the plane with the person who had measled have been identified and are being contacted by health officials, say department officials.

If you were at Dulles International Airport in the areas at the times described above and notice the symptoms of measles, please call your primary health care provider, say officials. They advise you to tell your doctor that you were exposed to measles, before going to the office or the emergency room.

Officials say measles symptoms usually appear in two stages. "In the first stage, most people have a fever of greater than 101 degrees, runny nose, watery red eyes and a cough. The second stage begins around the third to seventh day when a rash begins to appear on the face and spreads over the entire body," according to department officials in a press release on Tuesday.

They say in the Dulles International Airport case, if you were infected with measles, then you may develop symptoms as late as Friday, June 28.

Officials note that measles is not very common in the U.S., but is common in many parts of the world. They advise people who will be traveling internationally be evaluated for measles immunity and vaccinated as needed.